Heroes that Come to Life
by Emerald Twin Blade
Summary: 1 of 2. Judai is immersing himself in the world of comic books now that his favorite Heroes have been given their own story lines. Johan seems interested, too, but can one little idea lead to something that'll bring them closer together in the future?


disclaimer: _Emerald Twin Blade_ doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or any of the characters or items in this fic recognizable from the TV show or Card Game.

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: (1 of 2) :

**Flashback**

_It Happened So Long Ago_

It was a sunny and crisp day; not necessarily the kind of hot day filled with humidity, but the kind that was dry. As a matter of fact, there were a few Obelisk Blue girls sitting outside in bikinis attempting to tan themselves. All they were doing, however, was attracting underclass_men_ and being ogled at.

Johan Andersen was not the kind of guy to be staring at these… _well-endowed_ women, though. The teal blue-haired transfer student was chuckling to himself as he passed a group of male students that were trying to stay hidden behind a row of bushes and still stare mindlessly like the Peeping Toms they were. He shook his head, hands sliding into the pockets of his black pants as he made his way toward the Slifer Red dormitory.

Although he was still fairly new to Duel Academia, he felt as though he had always been there. Perhaps it was the fact that the classes were practically the same, just taught in a different language… or maybe it was that Dueling was Dueling, wherever you go… More than anything, though, it was likely because of the friends he had made upon arriving. People like Sho and Ryo Marufuji, Tyranno Kenzan, Asuka and Fubuki Tenjoin… but, most of all, Judai Yuki.

When Johan had arrived, he found that he and Judai had quite a lot in common… _more_ than he was expecting to have in common with anyone from a foreign Duel Academia. More than that, he felt a sense of adventure around the Slifer boy, knowing, right at the get-go, that being close friends with him would be fun. A few strange and dangerous things had already happened, but they all got through it alright. Everything was fine for now, so what was there to worry about now?

The blunet snickered grimly, mumbling, "Yeah; _'what'_ is the question…"

In all seriousness, he had found himself craving the infamous Duelist's company more and more. Despite warnings from other students, including those within Judai's own circle of friends, Johan could not stop himself from wanting to be near him, to talk to him, to laugh with him…. As a teenager with many special gifts of his own, he knew precisely what these feelings were, but he also did not want to drop a bomb on the object of his obsession. He did not mind taking things slowly, but he was hoping that maybe, just _maybe_, the other could feel the same way, too.

"Oh, it's Johan!"

"Hm?" He looked up from the ground, coming to a stop when he noticed a short but familiar friend standing before him. Upon snapping out of his thoughts, Johan smiled, "Sho! I was just on my way to see Judai."

The big-haired Obelisk Blue looked up at Johan with anxious grey eyes for a moment before looking to a side, his voice taking on a slightly miffed tone, "Oh, were you? You may be wasting your time if you go now…"

The taller student's grin widened, having known for a long time that Sho Marufuji was jealous of how close Johan had gotten to Judai within a short timeframe, "Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Aniki's gotten caught up with reading comic books… A box came in this morning for him and it's like he's in a whole different world!" Sho explained matter-of-factly, shrugging as nonchalantly as he could, "Since he wasn't really paying any attention to me, I left… Why don't you come with me, though? I'm meeting up with Kenzan to watch some duels."

Johan folded his arms and made a courteously thoughtful look before shaking his head, "Hmm… _Nah_; I'll try my luck with Judai." He waved a hand in farewell as he started at a run, "See you later, then!"

He did not bother looking back to see the irritated look he must have left on the usually-meek Obelisk student; he knew it was there, but he did not particularly care at that moment. The idea of Judai not noticing anyone in his immediate vicinity was a little laughable, especially since he was much more observant than people gave him credit for.

As the Slifer Red dorm came into view, he smiled, "I wonder how much of Sho's story holds true!"

Apparently, it was no joke; Judai Yuki was, in fact, reading comic books. As soon as Johan opened the door to the dorm room, he found the academy's signature '_Slifer Slacker_' lying on his stomach across his bed with a thin paper comic spread open beneath his chin. Chocolate brown eyes were glued to the pictures on the pages, a hand holding the edge of the right page and waiting to turn it.

"Jyuuuuu—" Johan grinned widely as he walked up beside his best friend and slid his hand into his mess of brown and orange hair to ruffle it mercilessly, "DAAAAAAI!"

The brunet looked as if he had jumped out of his skin as he tried to jump back, away from the attack on his head. In the process, however, he slammed the back of his head against the wall his lower bunk was pressed against.

He winced visibly, picking up a hand to rub at the bump that was undeniably growing behind his head, "O-oww…" He did not even bother to get angry at his smiling friend as he settled back into his previous place and greeted him with his own big smile, "Hey, Johan; don't scare me like that!"

Johan laughed aloud, sitting himself down on the floor with his back to the side of the mattress, "Sorry; you looked like you were in a-whole-nother world, so I wanted to make sure you knew I was here!"

He looked around for a moment, taking notice of the stack of comic books on the desk nearby. Curious, he reached over to take a couple of copies from the top, "I heard from Sho that you were reading, so I came to see the miracle for myself! Aaand then I noticed they were comic books; 'seems more your style, anyway."

It was Judai's turn to laugh as he kept his eyes on the page in front of him and replied, "Y'know, Kaiba Corp and Industrial Illusions decided to work together and make a bunch of comic books based on Duel Monsters cards. Of course, what better material to use than—"

Johan smiled, looking at the covers of the two comics in his hands, "Elemental Heroes, of course! And they even did a few for Neos… 'Bet you're proud!"

The thin books sitting in the blunet's grasp were simply titled _NEOS_ and _Neos and the Neo-Spacians_. Upon skimming through the two, he was able to surmise that, although they held the same main character, the storylines were quite different. He put them down on the floor for a moment, turning to look over Judai's shoulder.

"Which one're you reading?"

Judai picked up the left side of the book, pages and all, to reveal the cover; a picture of the Duelist's two most-used heroes greeted Johan's light green eyes as the title across the top read in big WordArt letters: _Featherman and Burst Lady_ #1. He suppressed the laughter that he so desperately wanted to release, instead deciding to sit back down and pick up the first issue of _NEOS_. Opening it to the first page, he admired the artwork and the story's introduction for a moment before leaning his head back against the bed and trying to look up at Judai that way.

"Hey; do you think there'll be a cartoon or something to go with these?"

An enthusiastic grin spread over the brunet's lips as he picked up the book and shifted to lie on his back, holding the book close to his face so he could still read, "That'd be totally sweet! Wouldn't it be cool if it got so popular that they did those live-action plays at department stores or something? Crowler's always getting after me for what I'll do after graduation… Bet'cha I'd be great at _that_!"

Johan finally let himself laugh aloud again, shaking his head, "_You_? An actor? No way!"

"Hey!" Judai barked, turning his head to glare at the back of his best friend's blue hair, "I can act if I want to!"

This did not stop Johan's laughter, "Yeah, sure! You're an _amazing_ liar!"

"Of course I am! Bet y'didn't know Ruby and Kuriboh've been fucking, did you?"

The older boy dropped the comic book in his hands to his lap, where it then fell to the floor. He turned to face the other abruptly, staring with wide eyes and a bright red face, "_WHAT_?"

Judai grinned deviously and flashed his signature two-finger salute, "_Gotcha~_"

"Why, you little—!" Johan scrambled to get up, reaching out his arms and throwing his weight into his hands in an attempt to shove the brunet backwards.

Judai easily caught his wrists, but the strength behind Johan's charge left him beneath the other. He tried to push Johan away, but the other kept him down on the bed. With a sudden outburst of power, Judai threw his friend further into the bunk and against the wall, pinning him there.

"What? Wanna fight?"

Johan smirked, raising an eyebrow, "You know I'd win."

Chocolate eyes flashed mischievously, "Wanna bet?"

The two boys wrestled for a while longer, although it appeared to be terribly one-sided. Eventually, Judai fell off of the bed, leaving Johan to lie alone on it. His head was in his hands as he let his legs alternate between moving up and down, a triumphant look on his face.

"Told you so~"

The brunet laughed, sitting back up and moving to climb back onto the bed. He paused, however, when Johan's face appeared before his own. A light blush dusted his cheeks, but he was still grinning goofily. The other simply stared right back at him, smiling with an all-too-soft look in his eye.

Johan's eyelids lowered slightly as he moved in, closer to Judai's face; his smile was still in place, still confident. Judai's grin, however, weakened a little, his cheeks reddening further as he leaned in, too.

"Aniki, are you done yet?"

At that moment, the door opened. Judai immediately turned to look at the door, his usual grin back in place and only a faint pink color leaving evidence of the previously dark blush on his face. In that second, Johan nearly fell off of the bed, but was able to catch himself on the edge with one hand.

He looked up as he settled himself back into place, seeing Sho and Kenzan enter the room. He blinked; did they _have_ to ruin their moment? As he watched the two newcomers speak to his best friend, who was holding up the comic books again and laughing, his mind kept still on what had almost occurred seconds before.

Judai had never acknowledged his feelings like _that_ before, and, let me tell you, Johan always made a point to make his feelings for Judai as obvious as possible.

That was the first time, but… who knew if there would ever be a second?


End file.
